Brutal Expulsion MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityRare
TypeInstant
Abilities Devoid

Key Takeaways

  1. Handles multiple threats with creature bounce and spell or permanent disruption, pivotal for control strategies.
  2. Instant speed enables reactive plays, granting players significant flexibility during critical game phases.
  3. Despite mana specificity and cost, its diverse utility merits inclusion in blue-red decks and collections.

Text of card

Devoid (This card has no color.) Choose one or both —• Return target spell or creature to its owner's hand.• Brutal Expulsion deals 2 damage to target creature or planeswalker. If that permanent would be put into a graveyard this turn, exile it instead.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Brutal Expulsion provides a unique opportunity to handle two threats at once. It can send a creature back to an opponent’s hand while also dealing with an on-stack spell or another nonland permanent. This versatility ensures you maximize each card’s potential, often giving you a critical edge in tight situations.

Resource Acceleration: While the card itself doesn’t directly accelerate your resources, it can indirectly influence your mana usage. By bouncing back an opponent’s creature, you may force them to spend their next turn’s mana to replay it, giving you room to develop your board undisturbed.

Instant Speed: The strength of Brutal Expulsion isn’t just in its dual utility; it’s also in its ability to be played at instant speed. This flexibility allows for strategic plays during your opponent’s turn or in response to actions that would otherwise be detrimental to your game plan. Quick adaptation to the evolving game state is often key to victory and Brutal Expulsion fits neatly into this dynamic.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Brutal Expulsion does not ask you to discard cards, it does require a specific combination of mana colors to cast. This means it may not fit seamlessly into all types of decks, particularly those that don’t run both blue and red mana.

Specific Mana Cost: The casting cost for Brutal Expulsion is one blue mana, one red mana, and two other mana. This specific requirement may be challenging in decks that are not focused on both colors, potentially reducing the flexibility and consistency of your mana base.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Four mana is a significant investment, especially considering that the immediate impact of Brutal Expulsion might not always match its cost. In some scenarios, you might find other spells that achieve similar results for less mana, allowing you to maintain a more aggressive tempo.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Brutal Expulsion offers a rare blend of utility, providing both creature removal and non-creature spell bounce. This dual functionality makes it a flexible addition to many decks that prioritize control and tempo.

Combo Potential: Aside from disrupting your opponent’s board, Brutal Expulsion can serve as a key piece in combos, resetting your own permanents with beneficial enter-the-battlefield effects, or paving the way for a finishing move unimpeded.

Meta-Relevance: With the ever-shifting landscape of MTG play, cards that offer multiple modes of interaction stay relevant. In a meta densely populated with small creatures or critical artifacts and enchantments, Brutal Expulsion can be a game changer, swinging momentum in your favor.


How to beat

Brutal Expulsion is a versatile card in Magic: The Gathering that combines disruption with removal. This modal spell can bounce a creature or spell to its owner’s hand and deal damage to a creature or planeswalker. To effectively counteract Brutal Expulsion, it’s important to have redundancy amongst your threats. This means playing multiple impactful creatures or spells in a short span of time, overwhelming the potential targets for Brutal Expulsion and reducing its overall impact on your game plan.

Another strategy is to use spells that protect your assets. Counterspells or spells that grant hexproof can safeguard your important creatures or planeswalker from being targeted. Additionally, cards with indestructible or those that can be recast from the graveyard minimize the downside of being returned to your hand or dealt damage. It’s also helpful to bait out the Brutal Expulsion by presenting an appealing but less crucial target, preserving your key pieces for a more decisive moment in the game.

By anticipating and preparing for the multifaceted effects of Brutal Expulsion, you can maintain control and thwart your opponent’s attempts at disrupting your strategy on the battlefield.


Cards like Brutal Expulsion

Brutal Expulsion holds a unique spot among the versatile spells available in Magic: The Gathering. Its comparable counterpart, Izzet Charm, offers flexibility with multiple modes, but Brutal Expulsion stands out with the ability to address two permanents or spells in one cast. Unlike Izzet Charm, which can decide the fate of just one target, Brutal Expulsion facilitates both a bounce and direct damage effect.

Another similar multitalented card is Kolaghan’s Command, which also provides a choice of modes. However, Brutal Expulsion offers the added advantage of exiling an opponent’s spell, which is crucial against cards with graveyard interactions. Kolaghan’s Command can’t nullify spells nor exile them, focusing instead on retrieving creatures and destructing artifacts.

To sum up, Brutal Expulsion excels due to its singular combination of delaying an opponent’s game plan with a bounce effect while simultaneously disrupting their hand. This two-in-one package allows players to maintain board control and press an advantage, making Brutal Expulsion a distinguished choice among multifaceted Magic: The Gathering cards.

Izzet Charm - MTG Card versions
Kolaghan's Command - MTG Card versions
Izzet Charm - Duel Decks: Izzet vs. Golgari (DDJ)
Kolaghan's Command - Dragons of Tarkir (DTK)

Cards similar to Brutal Expulsion by color, type and mana cost

Fire // Ice - MTG Card versions
Suffocating Blast - MTG Card versions
Reinterpret - MTG Card versions
Essence Backlash - MTG Card versions
Steam Augury - MTG Card versions
Ral's Outburst - MTG Card versions
Channeled Force - MTG Card versions
Fire // Ice - Dominaria Remastered (DMR)
Suffocating Blast - Apocalypse (APC)
Reinterpret - Commander 2021 (C21)
Essence Backlash - Return to Ravnica (RTR)
Steam Augury - Commander 2015 (C15)
Ral's Outburst - War of the Spark (WAR)
Channeled Force - Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths (IKO)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Brutal Expulsion MTG card by a specific set like Battle for Zendikar and Battle for Zendikar Promos, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Brutal Expulsion and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Brutal Expulsion Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2015-10-02 and 2015-10-02. Illustrated by Victor Adame Minguez.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12015-10-02Battle for ZendikarBFZ 2002015normalblackVictor Adame Minguez
22015-10-02Battle for Zendikar PromosPBFZ 200s2015normalblackVictor Adame Minguez

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Brutal Expulsion has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Brutal Expulsion card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

DateText
2015-08-25 A card with devoid is just colorless. It’s not colorless and the colors of mana in its mana cost.
2015-08-25 Cards with devoid use frames that are variations of the transparent frame traditionally used for Eldrazi. The top part of the card features some color over a background based on the texture of the hedrons that once imprisoned the Eldrazi. This coloration is intended to aid deckbuilding and game play.
2015-08-25 Devoid works in all zones, not just on the battlefield.
2015-08-25 If a card loses devoid, it will still be colorless. This is because effects that change an object’s color (like the one created by devoid) are considered before the object loses devoid.
2015-08-25 If a spell is returned to its owner’s hand, it’s removed from the stack. The spell isn’t countered, but it won’t resolve. If a copy of a spell is returned to a hand this way, the copy will cease to exist the next time state-based actions are performed.
2015-08-25 Other cards and abilities can give a card with devoid color. If that happens, it’s just the new color, not that color and colorless.
2015-08-25 The second mode will exile the target creature or planeswalker if it would be put into the graveyard this turn for any reason, not just due to lethal damage. The exile effect applies to that permanent even if Brutal Expulsion deals no damage to it (due to a prevention effect) or Brutal Expulsion deals damage to a different creature or planeswalker (due to a redirection effect).

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